Parking — Pennsylvania Permit Test
Parking on the Pennsylvania permit test — 10 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.
The rules
If the street has a curb you must park as close to it as you can, but no more than 12 inches away; with no curb, pull as far off the road as possible.
A car sticking out into the lane is the one a passing driver clips.
If the street you are on has a curb, park as close to it as you can, but no more than 12 inches away.
You may not park within 15 feet of a fire hydrant.
A crew that has to run hose around your car loses the minutes that matter most.
Within 15 feet of a fire hydrant.
You may not park within 20 feet of a crosswalk at an intersection.
A car parked at the corner hides the person about to step off the curb.
Within 20 feet of a crosswalk at an intersection.
You may not park within 30 feet of a flashing signal, stop sign, yield sign or traffic control device at the side of the road.
The whole point of the sign is that drivers can see it from a distance.
Within 30 feet of any flashing signal, stop sign, yield sign or traffic control device located at the side of a roadway.
You may not park within 50 feet of the nearest rail at a railroad crossing.
A driver at the crossing needs a clear view down the track before rolling onto it.
Within 50 feet of the nearest rail at a railroad crossing.
You may not park within 20 feet of a driveway entrance to a fire station.
The engines have to get out fast and turn as they go.
Within 20 feet of a driveway entrance to a fire station.
When you must park on the roadway, use your four-way flashers, leave enough room for passing vehicles, and make sure your vehicle can be seen at least 500 feet in both directions.
A car nobody sees until the last second is a car somebody drives into.
Make sure your vehicle can be seen at least 500 feet in both directions.
Always park in the direction traffic moves, set your parking brake, and shift to park, or to reverse or first if the vehicle has a manual shift.
A parked manual car has no park position, so the gearbox itself has to hold it still.
If you are parked on a hill, turn your wheels as shown in the diagram.
When parking downhill with or without a curb, or uphill without a curb, turn your steering wheel so the wheels point completely to the right.
If the brake lets go, you want the car to roll away from the traffic lane.
wheels are completely to the right.
Parking unlawfully in a space marked for people with disabilities is a summary offense, and a conviction brings a fine of between $50 and $200 plus towing costs.
Every car parked there is somebody who could not get out of theirs.
Individuals convicted of this offense will be fined between $50 and $200.
On the test
How far from the curb may you park?
No more than 12 inches. A car sticking out into the lane is the one a passing driver clips. PA Driver's Manual, p.52: “If the street you are on has a curb, park as close to it as you can, but no more than 12 inches away.”
How this works
Most practice tests hand you a bank of questions and leave the manual somewhere else. This one puts them together.
You read one law and the reason behind it, then answer a question on that law while it is still fresh. Get it right and you move on; get it wrong and you have found the gap while it is cheap to fix, not on the morning of the exam.
Learning one rule at a time, and proving it immediately, is what turns a manual you skimmed into something you actually know — and it makes studying feel like getting somewhere rather than like waiting to find out.
What it costs
- One payment, once — not a subscription. Nothing renews and there is nothing to cancel, for an exam you sit one time.
- Free to start: a 10-question test and the first section of cards. No sign-up and no account.
- Paying opens the rest of the cards, unlimited full-length practice tests, and retests built from exactly the questions you got wrong.
- Every level up to Prepared — 3 tests passed in a row.
- Do the work, fail the real exam, and we refund you.
All Pennsylvania permit topics
Where these come from
Every rule here is checked against PA Driver's Manual, published by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-06.